Postal News Around The Country

Actor Danny Glover: My parents proudly worked for the US Postal Service. Don’t destroy it.
USA Today – Op-ed by Danny Glover

“African Americans have the most to lose from Postal Service cuts and the most to gain from innovative reforms that help the poor, like postal banking.”

How Congress Manufactured a Postal Crisis—And How to Fix it
Common Dreams

“An unprecedented congressional mandate threatens the Postal Service’s ability to continue to provide good jobs and universal service.”

Mail delivered late? Madison USPS mail carrier says there’s a severe staffing shortage
Channel 3000

“Most people expect their mail to be delivered by midafternoon. Madison resident Linda Kriesel said she’s seen her mail delivered hours late. ‘It’s bad,’ Kriesel said.  Kriesel is not alone. A U.S Postal Service mail carrier, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation, said there’s a major staffing shortage in Madison. They said it’s been this way for quite some time… In a statement, USPS said: ‘The U.S. Postal Service is a responsible employer that prudently matches our workforce to an evolving workload and adjusts staffing continuously, including workhours. The Postal Service takes great pride in safely delivering mail to every address in America. Each day a Post Office faces operational variables such as weather, scheduled vacations, unscheduled absences, high volumes, or a new employee on a route, all which may affect delivery times. We gladly work to address any specific service issue from the community when brought to our attention..”

USPS resumes mail delivery after Hurricane Barry
4WWL

“The United States Postal Service says mail delivery and retail operations will resume Monday after Hurricane Barry made landfall over the weekend.”

Jeff Bezos risks angering Trump by admitting the US Postal Service gave him a huge helping hand …
Business Insider

“Jeff Bezos said in an interview on Monday that the US Postal Service was crucial to getting Amazon off the ground, as it provided the infrastructure that enabled the business to thrive.”

POLITICS
Here’s Where the 2020 Candidates Stand on Labor

In These Times

For a few days in April, grocery store chain in New England magnetically attracted Democratic presidential hopefuls. Thousands of Stop & Shop workers were on strike in the biggest private-sector walkout in years. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), Mayor Pete Buttigieg (South Bend, Ind.), former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (Minn.) all joined picket lines to stand in solidarity. Others tweeted messages of support. “

Incoming acting Labor Secretary Patrick Pizzella under scrutiny for work with disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff

“Incoming acting Labor Secretary Patrick Pizzella will take the helm of the department following the resignation Friday of Alex Acosta, who faced scrutiny over his role in prosecuting alleged sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein more than a decade ago. But Pizzella, currently deputy Labor secretary, has his own controversial past that will likely come to the fore. Democratic senators and civil rights groups have expressed concern about Pizzella’s prior work with disgraced Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff in the late 1990s and early 2000s to hamper worker protections in the Northern Mariana Islands.”

Employers May Bar Union Solicitation in Their Facilities: NLRB
Bloomberg Law

“Employers may ban union representatives from promoting their union in a public space within the employer’s facilities if those representatives aren’t employees, the National Labor Relations Board ruled June 14.”

Other Postal News  

This is other informational news brought to us from APWU National, Communications Director, Emily Harris.

Postal Service Floats Big Cuts to Employee Pay, Leave and Benefits
GovExec.com

“The U.S. Postal Service, facing pressure from Congress to propose initiatives to ensure the agency’s long-term viability, is floating a business plan that…Mark Dimondstein, president of the American Postal Workers Union, called the potential business plan a ‘cut, slash and burn approach.’”

USPS worker honored after stopping scam
WAVE 3 – Bertie Faulkner is a member of the New Albany Area Local

“Earlier this year, Faulkner, who works in New Albany as a USPS lead clerk, suspected a customer was trying to scam them with a money order.”

Can the U.S. Postal Service deliver on promise of new mail delivery trucks?
Linns Stamps

“Sometime this summer, the United States Postal Service is scheduled to release a much-awaited proposal for new mail delivery trucks.”

New tools to stop illegal drugs coming in US mail
KIRO 7

“Dangerous deliveries of powerful narcotics are being sent through the U.S. mail. Postal inspectors want to keep people from getting hurt. Inspectors are armed with a new law to stop those illegal and dangerous shipments. The law was cosponsored by Washington Rep. Suzan DelBene.  And it’s aimed directly at China.”

USPS Focuses on Increasing Cyber Workforce
MeriTalk

“The United States Postal Service (USPS) Corporate Information Security Office will be adding 60 new cybersecurity positions to its workforce…”

How Post Offices Can Beat Payday Lenders
Washington Monthly

“The fight to curb payday loans has reached one of America’s oldest institutions: the Postal Service. Democratic representatives Bill Pascrell of New Jersey and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts recently introduced an amendment to the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act authorizing post offices to provide small loans, savings accounts, and other financial services. The amendment sets aside $1 million to cover any overhead. It passed the House of Representatives on June 25.”

After Dramatic Workforce Reductions, Postal Service Sees Spike in Overtime Hours
GovExec.com

“The U.S. Postal Service’s spending on overtime pay to process mail spiked in fiscal 2018 following significant workforce cuts over the year, according to a new report.”

NALC, USPS formally open 2019 bargaining talks
NALC

“The leaders of the National Association of Letter Carriers and the United States Postal Service formally opened negotiations for a new collective-bargaining agreement today. In his opening statement, NALC President Fredric Rolando told Postmaster General Megan Brennan that, ‘As always, we will seek to preserve and improve the standard of living for city letter carriers. We aim to move forward, not backward. There will be no concessions offered or given. But we will work diligently and professionally to find common ground and mutual progress.’”

NPMHU and USPS Present Opening Statements as National Negotiations Begin in Washington D.C
NPMHU

“The National Postal Mail Handlers Union bargaining team met with representatives of the U.S. Postal Service on June 27, 2019 to mark the official start of the collective bargaining process for a successor agreement to replace the 2019 National Agreement which is scheduled to expire on September 20, 2019.  The NPMHU is committed to making every reasonable effort to reach an agreement that is good for our members, good for the Postal Service, and good for the American mailing public.”

Amazon, the new king of shipping
Axios

“Less than a decade after Amazon broke into the logistics industry, it has become its own biggest shipper.”

INTERNATIONAL POSTAL AND LABOR NEWS

216 jobs set to go as Cork mail site closes
Irish Examiner – Ireland

“The Cork Mail Centre in Little Island is to close with the loss of 216 jobs, affecting 240 people. An Post officials travelled to Little Island last night to inform employees that the closure of the sorting centre will occur on a phased basis between September 2019 and March 2020.”

Korea Post Workers Union to strike if dangerous working conditions continue
Parcel and Postal Technology International – South Korea

“The Korea Postal Workers Union (KPWU) has announced plans to strike on July 9 if management continues to renege on promises to fix hazardous…”

Amazon and Alibaba Said to Study Buying Brazilian Postal Service
riotimesonline.com – Brazil

“President Jair Bolsonaro’s intent to privatize the Brazilian Postal Service (Correios) is well known, and he recently dismissed the president of the state-owned company who expressed disapproval of the plan, replacing him with General Floriano Peixoto,more favorable to privatization.”